[Donn Hewes]

Hi George, I will trade you for the six foot bar if you want. I could get the six at NEAPFD. I just checked, I have a good clean five footer – 19 guard holes not including the two holes for the outer shoe. Donn

I could sell it but I would rather trade – Give me a call. 607-849-4442

[Donn Hewes]

Up side down neck? I think that is a nice looking horse. I am sure he can pull a lot. my preference, based on some limited experience, would be to move round bales with a low, wide sled. Come up along side – roll the bale into the sled on it flat side and go.

My only concern about using the small single horse for this isn’t so much if he can do it. With the proper preparation, and situation, he probably can. Just realize that you have designed a task that is asking him to work near his weight limit. Imagine a weight lifter, they work and work below their max effort, and every once in a while they see how much they can lift. If we ask for a big effort too much or too often we can sour an animal. he looks like he could be a good worker and I am not suggesting he can’t do this work, just a word of caution about pushing the smaller horse to do everything the big fellas do.

I worked with a pair of Halflingers a few years ago. Nice drafty ponies, and good workers overall, but I all ways felt they had been a little soured from manure spreaders and mowers that should have been for bigger horses. We spent a lot of time asking them to go.

[Donn Hewes]

Leslie, left or right turn? The mower was made to turn right With out too much trouble as you can roll the bar backward a little while you turn. When you turn left the bar speeds up throught the grass just as the wheels, and there fore the knife, slow. We usually use a left turn to open a field against a fence or a hedge but other wise turn right as much as possible. On a left turn to avoid plugging, use a little longer radius turn to help keep the speed up, sometimes lifting the bar a little will help as well. On a right turn if you slow too much on acount of trying to make neat corners, just ask him to stop before it plugs. this is better on two counts. When you ask him to move over (come gee) the bar will roll backwards and not plug (lifting a little as you turn), plus you will be lined up for the next side with out rolling out into the already mowed grass (all ways good for a plug)

Short, wet, green, and thick, are all the best conditions to test a mower, horse, or operator! keep at it.

[Donn Hewes]

I probably have a five foot bar here. We might work out a deal!

[Donn Hewes]

Just one thought. A shorter bar won’t fix the plugging or broken pitman. Possibly loosing the timing or lead? I have broken three! metal plates on the pitman stick. Last one yesterday, after i had thought that I had fixed the problem. I guess Norm was probably right, the mower had good lead at the start of the season, but after hitting a dead furrow and a few bumps and humps the lead is gone. I have tried twice to adjust it with little luck.

I guess I will look for another push bar. My wife was talking to one of the Amish guys at the Farmer’s market the other day. Say he uses an 8′ bar. never heard of that, but I am pretty happy with the seven.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Pam, While there are no rules in this world (none that I made anyway), I sincerely believe you want to find some help from someone that has some driving experience. Farm work with draft animals is fun and rewarding work but there are risks for you and the animal in discovering how it all works. Good luck and don’t hesitate to ask more questions. Yes, a draft pony harness of the hames and collar type.

[Donn Hewes]

Actually I tedded, raked and baled all the day after I mowed. I mowed from 12 noon to 3:30 pm. on Monday. Baled at 4 pm. on Tues.

[Donn Hewes]

Beautiful hay making weather! hot and dry! So much for haybines. I went and tedded the hay yesterday morning from about 10 am to noon with a Grimm tedder. Much needed as there were many very large clumps from the poor mowing the day before. By noon the hay was almost dry! Raked it from 2pm to 4pm. and baled 243 From 4:30 to 6pm, just in time for milking to begin. Super nice hay. That is quite a lot from 4 1/2 acres, but that is why it was hard to mow, and that is the result of a first cutting in May. true confessions – baled with a tractor, one mule is lame with an abscess. I also got a new horse in last night so we will start to check him out.

[Donn Hewes]

Some where here there is an old thread that goes into the difference between these two approaches at some length. Here are some ways I would approach the question. Are you more interested in being the one that trains the horse, or having the horse so you can do some work? If you are the one to train the horse, you need to decide what training methods you believe in and why. (not to say you can’t change your mind – but it is good to believe in what you are doing). If not you just need to decide which of the offers to help is most likely to get the results you want. Who has the most time to actually help, etc.

Regardless of how many things you put in front of, behind and along side the object is to read the animal, How are they reacting? Are they learning? Are they settling in or getting worked up? My current motto is horses should be calm, relaxed and alert naturally. I aim to keep them that way through out their training and work experiences.

I prefer the least number of added equipment, as for me they take a way from my ability to focus on the animal. But that is just me and how I like to do it.

[Donn Hewes]

That sounds like what I am dealing with for Connie. She can’t handle the heat, and especially the humidity. D

Leslie, there should be an adjustable shoe on the outer end of the bar. Perhaps it is missing. You could take a picture? Donn

[Donn Hewes]

Leslie, Did you look at how high your mower was set off the ground? I can’t remember if we talked about that?

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Mitch and Leslie, just so others understand Mitch, folks use the term register or timing to mean pretty much the same thing. In time or in register. I agree timing is very important, but an 1/8″ might not be having any effect. Not bad to adjust it if it is easy. I wouldn’t cut a new pitman for it.
Leslie, Did catch how to look for the lead?

I had a funny (sad?) thing happy this week. I broke the same metal plate at the end of the pitman I broke about six weeks ago. I know something is wrong with this mower, right? The timing and the lead seem perfect. Ever thing is sharp and running free. The mower has a seven foot bar and has mowed and clipped a lot of acres this year. Seems to be working well except these two broken plates. I have been using a custom rebent (Leon Brubake) push bar that helped me get the perfect lead, but now I notice that this push bar leaves the ball of the knive a little ahead of the pitman held square to the fly wheel. Could this tiny amount be tweaking the plate and causing it to snap?

I call up Norm Mcnair for his opinion. Not much help there, “I have been told since I was born that when that plate breaks it is the timing or the lead”. So I decide to change the push to another one that will move the ball of the knive back a little; I also loose a little of my beautiful lead.

Now for the punch line. as I am putting the knife back in I realize that it is very slightly touching the clamp on the ball against the point that sticks up at the knife holder at the inside end of the bar. With each trip around the knife slides forward a tiny bit just at the end of each stroke. So light a touch that you would never notice it while spinning it free hand, but if you imagine the grass pushing the knife back that would become a solid wack. More than enough to brake that plate. Now the mower mows but I can tell it is sluggish with out the lead that it had. I hope I can stop sweating long enough to put my Leon Brubaker special push bar back in!

No fun taking those things all apart. I am also out of spare parts for pitman sticks! Donn

[Donn Hewes]

Mitch, that looks great. I am hard on it. Because I took two mowers apart to make one, I salvaged the long right side drive shaft. I believe I maybe able to use this for a PTO shaft. I am also planning to put a dolly wheel on it. I will make sliding tongue to switch between two and three horses. Thanks for all your help. Donn

Richard, I have a friend that has just recently started working her Halflinger in a very similar mower. I think it is going well, but the horse is learning to work harder than it has been asked to before. Short stints at first so it can keep the mower speed up and let it rest before it quits. I will see if she can get on here with an update. Shafts do have the added benefit of putting the weight on the back saddle. There shouldn’t be any problem there.

[Donn Hewes]

just some random thoughts from a brief thunder storm. The only real question as to whether “he will or He won’t” is how calm is he naturally. To save on money throw the draft horse harness on him and drive him a round a little. Collar three inches to big – no matter. If he is willing buy him a collar and harness that fit.

I have spent a fair amount of time working Halflingers and Percherons together. 95% of the time you don’t need to off set the evener. I look at the task at hand and ask “is this something two of these smaller horses could do?”
There are two specific cases were an off set evener has really been useful. One was to move a large log that was just beyond the ability of two halflingers. Took the bigger Halfling and a Percheron Gelding and two inches of offset. Voila! The other I never really tried but, The same team of halflingers would pull a mower, just not as long as a team of Percherons, To work one of each together for maximum time, (both needed a rest at the same time) an off set might be useful. Again probably two inches.

I think you will be surprised by how strong the smaller horse is. In my extremely limited experience with saddle horses I have been around a couple that I personally would not want to work with. Too hard to hold still and relax. I work one horse open face and three with blinders all the time.

[Donn Hewes]

That rod is called the timing rod and should be adjustable. The rod threads into the plate at the gear box end. I know it is difficult but is it even possible to order stuff directly from the states? i have no idea of what the complications would be. We have the luxury here of being able to call and order an after market timing rod if we want one. I am not at home for a couple hours but I can get you some measurements. hopefully today.

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